The Greater Williamsburg Tourist Information Center is now open in a new location within the Village Shops at Kingsmill and was commemorated Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The center, operated by the Williamsburg Hotel and Motel Association, was previously located in an internal shop at the Village Shops at Kingsmill, but is now in an outside location boasting four entrances, including one right off the parking lot.
“What we had before was a square peg and a round hole,” said Ron Kirkland, executive director of the WHMA.
Due to a better layout, the new center has twice as much display area as the last location. There’s even room for a go-kart from Go Karts Plus.
The center is also one of four locations participating in Ripley’s Believe It or Not “Where’s Wadlow?” picture campaign. Visitors who take a picture with all four Robert Wadlow — the tallest man in the world — cutouts, receive a free T-shirt at Ripley’s in Williamsburg. The other participating locations are Jungle Jim’s Eatery, the Williamsburg General Store and Retro’s Good Eats.
“We’re trying to get as much stuff in here from as many places in the area as we can,” Kirkland said.
Aside from the go-kart, there’s a display table for beer and wine, including Williamsburg Winery, New Kent Winery and Williamsburg Alewerks. Another table holds information about the Premium Outlets and displays workout gear like running shoes and hand weights.
“We did away with a lot of office space and focused more on the visitor experience,” Kirkland said.
The new center has bathrooms that will remain open even after the center is closed. Staff members can lock an internal door, which separates the bathrooms from the main business. Kirkland says having public bathrooms open and accessible is important to tourists who aren’t familiar with the area.
Because the location is in York County, there’s an entire room devoted to York County’s attractions. Kirkland has reached out to county officials, offering them the chance to do whatever they want to decorate and maintain the room, including putting a full-time staff member in place to inform visitors about the county’s attractions.
Del. Mike Watson (R- 93rd District) attended the ribbon cutting and said he was impressed with the new location.
Tourism in Virginia has been down and Williamsburg has had a slower recovery than other areas, Watson said.
“I feel like things are on the rise again,” he explained, saying it was places like the Greater Williamsburg Tourist Information Center that contribute to the increase in visitors.
“I’m optimistic … I’m glad to see these things happening,” Watson said.
